Coma meets Soylent Green

Rating: 6/10 (21 July 2005)

Not an excessively original plot but lots of action. If one is willing to suspend disbelief, it becomes a reasonably diverting film. The special effects are quite good and there are enough car crashes and explosions to meet the needs of most Vin Diesel fans. The acting by Ewan McGregor was reasonably competent except when he lapsed into a Scottish accent as required by the plot. Scarlett Johansson was less inspired but was able to keep up with the action scenes with the possible exception of when she was presumably being dangled by the arm over the edge of a 70 story building. It was a challenge for the film to depict futuristic vehicles for the various chases but prototype models of various manufacturers were in evidence and consequently rather diverting. The sound track was good but was even better after I stuffed some tissues into my ears. In summary, an entertaining action-science fiction movie worth the price of admission but not a great deal more.